Andrea Severoni1, Matteo Minnucci (1), Francesco Antonio Mazzotta (1), Antonio Gianfelici (1), Maurizio Aracri (1), Paola Gualtieri (2), Giuseppe Annino (3), Laura Di Renzo (2), Ferdinando Iellamo (1), Marco Alfonso Perrone (1)

(1) Department of Clinical Sciences and Translational Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata.
(2) Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata.
(3) Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata.

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Background: Recent studies have shown that inflammation and oxidative stress can cause early atherosclerosis in professional athletes, due to intense and prolonged training. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) scientific opinion has acknowledged the hydroxytyrosol (3,4 dihydroxyphenylethanol [3,4-DHPEA or HT]) and derivatives, contained in extra virgin olive oil, typically used in Mediterranean diet may play a crucial role in the reduction of the inflammatory pathway. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of 25 g of phenols-rich extra virgin olive oil (p-EVOO) in professional soccer players.

Methods: The clinical study was a randomized, controlled trial to determine the acute effect in the postprandial time of 25g of p-EVOO. Twenty-two professional soccer players of an Italian Serie A team resulted eligible for the study. We evaluated plasma metabolites, oxidative stress biomarkers and gene expression of 8 genes related to oxidative stress and human inflammasome pathways, lasting two hours after p-EVOO administration.

Results: A significant reduction of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) and malondialdehyde (MDA) was observed (P<0.05), alongside a significant up-regulation of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), and upstream transcription factor 1 (USF1) (P<0.05).

Conclusions: This study shows that the intake of 25 g of p-EVOO was able to modulate, in postprandial time, the antioxidant profile and the expression of inflammation and of the oxidative stress-related genes, such as SOD1, USF1 and CAT. We also observed a significant reduction of MDA and oxLDL, plasma metabolites of oxidative stress, correlated with atherosclerotic plaque formation. Our data show that the postprandial intake of phenols and antioxidants can reduce the inflammatory pathway and oxidative stress and therefore the risk of early atherosclerosis in professional soccer players. Further studies, with a larger number of subjects, will be needed to confirm these data.